Welcome back to Ask Paul Tripp. We have two very similar questions today, Paul.

One is from a pastor and his wife, and the other from a couple, just church attendees.

How should our church be providing pastoral care for us? And then likewise, how can our church

provide pastoral care for our pastor and his wife?

You are a pastor for many decades, and now you've been called a pastor to pastors.

So what should we be doing to shepherd our shepherds?

Yeah, I want to reinforce, again, that there is no indication in the New Testament that a pastor is, has grown beyond his need for the body of Christ.

A pastor is a member of the body of Christ with a particular set of gifts and a particular calling,

but needs all the rich nutrients of grace and the body of Christ that anybody else needs.

It's very important to realize that.

And so a local church needs to set up a means by which a

pastor is pastor. You can't just say that. You have to set up by means. I'm going to give you some

things. First of all, I think it's very helpful for a pastor to be required to have regular spiritual counseling.

A good biblical counselor who's in your life that you regularly meet with.

Second is it's essential that the core leadership team is the best gospel-rich small group in the church.

So the pastor is getting rich gospel accountability, rich gospel encouragement.

Third, require your pastor to be part of a small group.

He doesn't lead.

So he's part of the regular fellowship of the church, presenting himself as part of the

regular fellowship of the church.

Fourth, regularly check up on the spiritual health of his family.

Because that's an indicator of how well this person is doing.

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